


stolen moments in shoddy motels

by fermentthemind (cats_cradle6766)



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M, Partnership, Pining, Pre-Relationship, Sleep Deprivation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:20:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27034087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cats_cradle6766/pseuds/fermentthemind
Summary: Tanaka probably didn't mean to say it, so Chikara lets it go. It's easier that way.
Relationships: Ennoshita Chikara/Tanaka Ryuunosuke
Comments: 9
Kudos: 69





	stolen moments in shoddy motels

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Drawtober2020 prompt 'midnight feast.' Not spooky at all.

“I love you.” 

Tanaka said it in a whooshing exhale before reaching for the bags in Chikara’s hands. 

He probably hadn’t meant to say it. He can’t have been serious, though that doesn’t stop Chikara’s hands from fumbling a bit on the take away he’d brought from the small shop next to their motel. It’s been a week since they started trailing this Bonny and Clyde disaster duo, and, once again, Tanaka has taken up his favorite habit of not sleeping when he really needs to. It’s a curious thing that had honestly surprised Chikara when he’d first picked up on it, but after talking with Nishinoya and Sugawara, he’d been able to at least confirm his suspicion that Tanaka, when properly engaged in a case, was absolutely terrible at actually going to sleep despite being exhausted. 

He’s overtired, and that’s probably why he does stupid things like moan loudly at the smell of mediocre take away and say things like “I love you” to Chikara when he’s been casually in the middle of an emotional crisis over the man for the last few months. He’s tired, not thinking straight, brain to mouth filter reduced to zero, and it absolutely has more to do with the food Chikara is holding than Chikara himself. 

So he drops the food on the crappy motel table and mutters, “yeah, yeah. You can buy me breakfast to prove it.” 

Tanaka doesn’t seem to have noticed he’s said anything, his hands already dug into the plastic bags and letting out soft little noises that are a mix between moans and whines. Chikara has been awake for at least twenty hours and is not equipped to deal with this. He sits down and grabs a soup bun before Tanaka can pile _all_ of them in his lap. 

“Hell, I’d _make_ you breakfast for feeding me like this. Do you _know_ how long it’s been since I last had a burger? You even put _cheese_ on it. Are you trying to seduce me?” Tanaka finally looks up at him with a wide grin and Chikara has to try very hard not to say _“yes, absolutely.”_

“Against my better judgement, and the fact that I have to sleep next to you for the rest of the night so I will absolutely be reaping the consequences of your lactose intolerance gas, yes.” Chikara pauses, watching Tanaka’s grin widen to show all of his teeth, delight and appreciation blatant on his face. Chikara swallows. _Why_ did he agree to go on this distance case with Tanaka? Why did he do this to himself? “I got you cheese.” 

“You really are the best, Ennoshita,” Tanaka says, then manages to fit half the cheeseburger into his mouth at once. It is horrible to witness but here Chikara sits at midnight in a shoddy motel, absolutely smitten. It’s ridiculous and he knows it – that doesn’t mean he can stop himself though. “And you got soup buns.” 

“We’ve been surviving off of gas station snacks, granola bars, and coffee for the last three days, I thought we deserved some real food,” Chikara explains himself. It’s not been an easy job, and the chaotic mess that seems to follow these two menaces they’re chasing has pretty much had them going flat out since they left the office. Granted, take away from a small twenty-four hour shop doesn’t seem _quite_ that extensively indulgent, but it’s better than instant ramen from another gas station. 

“So you bought us a veritable feast,” Tanaka has moved into the other boxes. He wrinkles his nose at some of them, mostly the steamed vegetables, but with a quick look at Chikara, does snag one of the salads. “You know, I feel like this is going to become one of those nostalgia foods – you know the ones that taste just perfect even if they’re shit.” 

“Way to insult my generosity,” Chikara allows himself a brief moment of pretending to be offended just to watch Tanaka try to shove his own words back into his mouth. It’s worth it, as Tanaka looks briefly ready to panic, eyes wide. With mercy, Chikara cracks a grin, waving on Tanaka to continue. “What the heck is a nostalgia food?” 

“You know, like, the kind of food that tastes _so good_ because you were so hungry, or so caught up in a moment that it tastes perfect and amazing, and no matter how many times you try it again, it never tastes that good ever because it was really more about the exact timing of when you ate it that made it taste like the best thing in the world.” Tanaka manages to get all of this out without really pausing in eating, though Chikara pauses, thinking about what he’s saying. 

“So, what, this tastes like the best meal in the world to you right now?” 

“I guess,” Tanaka replies, shrugging. “It’s been ages since I had a real meal.” Chikara grimaces, looking back up at him from his own food. 

He still doesn’t know Tanaka extremely well, but the man’s habits aren’t exactly the healthiest. His skills are impressive at work, but it’s more the dedication and vigor with which he throws himself to their assignments that has Chikara in awe of him. It’s also that same intensity that usually has Chikara hyperaware of the dark circles under his eyes that mean he’d worked through the night again, or stayed up all night, thinking about their current case, or just hung up on details they couldn’t crack before leaving the office. He forgets to eat, forgets to sleep, forgets to drink water, and Chikara finds himself almost annoyed at the lack of self-care if he didn’t know it was a symptom of something bigger – deeper. It’s a cruel twist that all of those things bundle up into the package that is a rather enigmatic man that somehow seems to draw Chikara closer to him every time he’s near, and Chikara finds himself too weak to resist the pull. 

“Well,” Chikara says, clearing his throat. “Now you have. And after, you can have a proper sleep.” 

The wide smile Tanaka had been wearing cracks a bit, though he tries to hold it in place. “I’ll do my best but make no guarantees,” he says, turning back to his food to offer distraction. He stabs at his salad with a bit more force than is really necessary to spear a tomato. “I wanted to go over the last police reports from B and C before-” 

“You can review that tomorrow _after_ you sleep,” Chikara tells him firmly. “I’ll strap you down to that bed if I have to.” Chikara must be tired as well if his brain to mouth filter is breaking down like this. He keeps his expression controlled, looking back up at Tanaka and catching him staring at him, mouth slightly open, and looking just a little amazed. _Shit_. “Don’t test me,” Chikara adds, hoping it sounds a bit like a joke, and a bit serious. Tanaka really _does_ need to sleep, and Chikara... 

Then Tanaka sinks into a wide grin, letting out a bark of a laugh as he flops back in his chair. “I never expected you to be the forward one,” he chuckles, eyes dancing in amusement. “You keep surprising me, Ennoshita.” 

“I have to keep up with you somehow,” Chikara replies, not really meaning to, but he’s tired as well. The usual banter they float back and forth is cracked and dry in his own head, and his mind isn’t as sharp. It’s been whittled down from the last few days of almost non-stop driving after a dynamic duo of criminals who always seem to be one step ahead of them. Chikara is tired, and so his replies are equally so, and they lack the usual quip that has Tanaka’s eyes burning brightly in answer. So he sighs, considering _actually_ throwing Tanaka on the bed after they eat and maybe tying him down so at least he can say he tried his best to make sure they _both_ slept. “Finish your veritable feast so we can wrap up and sleep.” 

“Hey.” Tanaka’s voice is just a little softer, a little more sincere, a little more genuine. It sends a soft shiver through Chikara, wondering if this is really who he is, if under all the layers that seem to make up the loud and intense man, the seemingly carefree and intimidating Tanaka Ryuunosuke that scowls at strangers and doesn’t pay attention in meetings, the real Ryuunosuke who isn’t ready to fully expose himself quite yet pokes out through the cracks, teasing him, calling for him to come just a little closer. It catches something in Chikara’s chest, pulling the air out of his lungs and leaving him short. Tanaka smiles, soft, quiet, genuine, his eyes going warm. “Thanks.” 

_”I love you.”_

Chikara’s throat feels dry, sticky with the yakisoba he’d been eating from a plastic container. He swallows, returning Tanaka’s stare and meeting his eyes. “Of course,” he says, nodding. “You’re my partner. Now, eat, or it’ll get cold, and we don’t have a microwave.” 

Tanaka’s smile widens to its familiar grin, the light glint in his eyes returning and allowing the pressure in Chikara’s chest to ease just slightly. “Far be it for me to refuse,” Tanaka says, and, before the moment can linger, promptly steals one of the soup buns Chikara had taken for himself. He laughs as Chikara lunges for it, and at least this is familiar. At least this is something Chikara still understands how to navigate within the ever-expanding world of knowing Tanaka. Here, he can breathe while he tries to fit the new pieces besides the ones he already has, and tucks away memories of midnight feasts of food that will never taste the same in a shoddy motel into the back of his mind to pull out and visit when he needs to remember that not everything in this world can be corrupted. 

Things like this, moments like this, never can be. That’s what makes them special.


End file.
